Could We Play Cricket in the Rain?

If cricket has a nemesis, it would be rain. 

Even the slightest whiff of precipitation can be enough to send players and officials scuttling back into the pavilion and the covers coming on.

It’s almost laughable that the world’s second most popular sport can’t cope with H2O, whilst other sports merrily continue when the weather takes a turn for the worst.  

Although rain only affects cricket in some countries (cough, cough, the UK), it can cause matches to be drawn or cancelled altogether - meaning fans are deprived of the game they love and, more importantly, teams can be denied crucial victories.

It’s not like we can politely ask the rain to stop and the weather gods will happily oblige.

So what should cricket do?

Should we just keep losing huge chucks of matches because of the weather? Perhaps place roofs on stadiums? Have reserve days? Settle it on the Play Station? Flip a coin?

All perfectly viable solutions (well, most of them at least) - but couldn’t we just play in the rain?

Some people label cricket as being 'slow' and 'boring', but cricket in the rain would quite possibly be utter carnage.

Just imagine how many times Jack Leach would have to wipe his glasses!

Bowlers would struggle to grip a wet ball and it would go flying out of their hands in all directions; head-high full tosses and wides squirting away to fine leg would all be on the cards, keeping the fielders on their (soggy) toes. Wicket-keepers would need a wetsuit...

Cricket whites would be more like browns by the end of play, with players slipping around on the wet outfield, turning the meticulously prepared pitches into giant oval mud baths.

Batting would be a struggle too; with the ball hardly bouncing, skidding everywhere and being almost impossible to see. 

It truly would be a case of ‘hit and hope’. Even run machines like Steve Smith and Ellyse Perry would have averages down in the low 30s soon enough, if we decided to play cricket during heavy showers.

Perhaps players could even decide to specialise their game to playing rain-cricket; perfecting a slip-proof run up could become a vital part of any young bowler's development. We could see a Michael Phelps-sponsored Kookaburra 'wet weather range' coming to any good sports store near you - a must-have for any cricketer touring the British Isles in the near future...

Whilst some may argue that playing in the rain gives an unfair advantage to whichever team has better swimmers, if it’s almost impossible to either bat or bowl in the rain, both teams would be equally disadvantaged, thus making it 100% fair.

Others may argue that rain-cricket is thoroughly unsafe for both teams and whilst this may be true, an extra element of risk could make the game all the more exciting. 

After all, even those that dislike cricket for whatever reason would surely be tempted by the prospect of  - absolute soggy chaos.  And cricket lovers would be able to watch the game they love, no matter what the weather forecast says!

So, as fun as it would be to see Ben Stokes take on David Warner in the ultimate 'rock-paper-scissors' showdown to decide a crucial Ashes test, or the disgusted reaction of the Lords faithful if a roof was to be built over the home of cricket, playing through the downpour is surely the best solution to cricket’s nemesis, rain...

What do you think?

Thanks for reading, hope this managed to bring a smile to your lips and stay tuned for more (less soggy) cricket commentary.